Holiday Cheers and Good Chi
- By Jennifer Roe
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- 18 Dec, 2018
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Keeping up your Chi during the holiday season!
Winter is part of the cycle of seasons, it tends to bog some folks down but what we need to realize is that as with everything, it is a cycle and if we can accept it for what it is and be grateful, it may just change the way we move through it. As things die off, hibernate, go dormant, and the cold sets in, it allows nature to prepare for the next stage, the stage of rebirth, the spring! While the days are short and the nights are long, take the time to go inward as nature does, nurture yourself, and reflect. What a great time to start learning about things you want to know more about, start a meditation practice, finish that project you started, read a good book (or several), it is time to focus on you!
We are energetic beings and must realize that as my teacher always says, “Qi effects everything!” What you put into your body, what you listen to, smells in your home, the people you surround yourself with, how you take care of yourself, everything matters!
Here are a few tips, or actually 15 tips or suggestions on ways to keep your Qi up during these winter months, the holidays, or heck—all year round. Hope you find them useful!
- Exercise. Keep your body moving, it helps reduce stress and just makes you feel good!
- Get outside and enjoy the sunshine. Even if the sun isn’t out just being in nature and connecting is going to increase that Qi 100 times more than being inside. When you are outside work on quieting your mind instead of focusing on the million things you have to do, the drama at work, or whatever your mind wants to spin out on. Instead, focus on the beauty of what is around you, the calmness of your breath, the noises of the birds or your feet walking through the snow. Absorb your surroundings.
- Essential Oils-there are a multitude of oils you can inhale to increase your chi, help you to focus, and assist with that energetic boost. You can diffuse them in your space or just carry around and sniff as needed. These oils will boost your chi the second you inhale them. Frankincense is an ultra-oil that increases the chi and helps you with connection. Citrus oils like orange, lime, and grapefruit are also very invigorating. Peppermint, Eucalyptus, Rosemary, and Lemongrass are just a few of many that can really boost that Qi. Choose one that feels right for you!
- Eat healthy foods. Avoid processed foods, and try to eat as clean as possible. Eating fresh herbs, fruits, and vegetables is a great way to keep your body feeling good.
- Avoid coffee-I know, it sounds like a great pick me up. However, not only does it lead to a big crash after the spike but from an aromatherapy perspective it drops your chi the minute you smell it. A shot of an essential oil combined with some sunshine and you should be feeling just fine.
- Avoid negative thoughts, and negative media. The news can be very depressing. If you are feeling down and out, there is no need to increase that negative energy. Negative media can also be social media. Reduce your time on those outlets as they can lead to feelings of isolation, judgment, and can cause that mind of yours to compare yourself to everyone else. Which leads to #7…
- DON’T COMPARE YOURSELF TO OTHERS OR GIVE A DAMN WHAT OTHERS THINK OF YOU! You are you, beautiful amazing you. Own it, embrace it, and love it. We are all on our own path, who gives a damn what the rest of the world thinks?!
- Prayer, meditation and positive thoughts are all not only incredibly valuable for your personal growth but they increase your Qi!
- Music and dance. Music is an amazing way to get your vibes up, it can enhance your mood, make you smile, and best of all make you dance! The combination of music and dancing is one of the most therapeutic and chi building therapies in my book! Yes, Julie Gentry-I will be eventually coming to one of your classes!
- Pamper yourself-take a yoga class, get a massage, take a bath, curl up and read a good book-love yourself. If you can’t afford to take a class or pay for a treatment, there are a million ways to pamper yourself. Simply make a point of doing something for yourself that makes you feel good!
- Acknowledge and trust that there is more out there and that you are not alone (BECAUSE YOU ARE NOT!).
- If possible, surround yourself with people who YOU CAN BE YOU around-these are your Qi boosters, avoid the energy suckers. If you are around an energy sucker make damn sure that you don’t take on their issues. It is ok to help guide someone to help themselves but it is not your responsibility to fix anyone. Often times, if you try to fix someone you can take on their stuff. We all have our own issues to deal with, we don’t need to add someone else’s! Be cognizant my fellow empaths!
- Remember, environment is very important. If it is toxic it is only bringing you down, you are probably taking on gunk that is not yours, and it will prevent you from raising your own Qi. If you are in a toxic environment whether it is work, home, friendship, etc. it may be time to consider making a change. Remember, energy feeds energy, and once again for my fellow empaths, we absorb.
- Of course I couldn’t leave this one out-Get a Qi Gong Energy Healing Session!! Release the Qi that is not serving you and bogging you down and allow yourself to be filled with Qi that will help you grow! Release the gunk!
- Last but not least…Be grateful for all that you have and what your true blessings are. Focus on the good stuff!
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- Write, write, and write some more. What do you want in your life? How do you want to feel? What do you want to achieve? Are you choosing to live in a way that is in alignment to where you want to be? When we put things to paper, it is setting intention which can bring us clarity as to next steps. Remember, we are our own guides and intention is putting energy in motion.
- Visualize. What does it look like when you are where you want to be? What does it feel like? Imagine it, and feel the feeling as if it has already happened. Practicing this regularly is again resonating with the energetic alignment of where you want to be. It is a powerful form of manifestation.
- Work on calming the mind. Find a mindfulness routine that will help with learning to listen more to your intuitive side rather than allowing the “monkey mind” to well, spin you out!
- Be aware of the excuses. It is important to recognize that you are the one who is in control of your life. If you want change it is ultimately up to you. So, rather than making excuses, do something about it. The other side to this is, if you aren’t ready to do something about it then I would encourage you to sit with the reason why; the REAL reason why. There might be a lot more to your resistance than you realize. And, often times when we are able to reach this place of awareness, it leads us to figure out ways to move forward.
- Play with the resistance, get out of your comfort zone. If something feels uncomfortable then challenge yourself to push pass that.
- Commit and take action. What can you commit to and what is sustainable? For example, if you are wanting more connection and to meet people, can you commit to finding or joining some type of social activity or group once a week? Once a month? Figure out what works for you and then hold yourself accountable. Remember, we are the creators of our universe and in order to make things happen, we must take action!
- Come work with me! I can help support you to make the change you need in your life. Sometimes all we need is that little bit of extra guidance, motivation, and clearing of energy! Move the gunk. Bring in clarity, feel aligned, calm your system, and play in the magic. It is truly amazing the possibilities of what can be!
How far are you willing to go?
Appreciating where we are in this moment and what we have in our present life can be a challenging concept. As a society, we seem to be caught up in the idea that our happiness lies in our future self; our happiness lies in a distant, far-off place.
Have you ever thought or said the words, “Once I get to this place, ‘fill in the blank’, I will be good?” “I will be happy when…?”, I will be satisfied as soon as…?”
What if rather than existing in a place that has not even happened yet, we chose to exist and cherish where we are now?
I know, it sounds strange. We are over achievers, we compare ourselves to others, we are always striving for more, we thrive in our distractions. We get caught up in our busyness and our stories but, what happens when we come towards the end of our lives and we look back? Do we want to remember the hours we stressed and worked ourselves into a tizzy? Do we want to remember the distractions of screens and social media and things that aren’t real?
Or, do we want to remember our connections with the people we love, the laughter shared? Do we want to remember our real-life experiences that bring us joy; the things we had a passion for; the knowledge we gained, the moments and adventures we lived?
As a culture, I believe that many of us are not connected to ourselves. We don’t know what it means or feels like to be embodied. We are often times in such a state of stress, a constant state of busyness and distractedness, we don’t know where to even begin to find that inner peace or what if feels like to be fulfilled within ourselves; to be comfortable in our own skin.
True happiness comes from within and is something that is achievable and when we are present, we can learn to appreciate everything around us, that much more. Yes, it requires work, yes it requires conscious action and conscious choices. But, please hear me when I say, it is worth every bit of the time and dedication to get there.
I encourage you to take a few deep breaths and think about the questions below and then take the time to sit with your answers.
What attributes do you appreciate about yourself right now?
What do you love in your life right now?
What puts a smile on your face in this present moment?
What are your distractions? Do they leave you feeling fulfilled or are they simply a means of escape?
Are you currently happy? If not, what is preventing you from feeling this way? What changes can you make to get there?
These questions are simply an indicator of where you are currently and to notice what comes up for you. Does your mind rush to answer these questions or are you able to take some deep breaths and really feel into your answers? Presence within ourselves is so very important and it takes practice.
When we can take a moment to set aside the distractions, slow down the mind and feel into something through our bodies, we are allowing our intuition to guide us; we are trusting answers to come from a deeper place.
Believe me, I am one of the first people to encourage setting goals for yourself, for dreaming big and creating a life beyond your dreams!
If you allow yourself to think in terms of, the both and… it is a bit of a paradox. Things in our life aren’t always either or, there are multiple ways to be and at times that can feel like a contradiction but we are complex beings and the way we live our lives is not black and white…
If you aren’t present and able to find contentment within yourself; once that dream is achieved, will you truly appreciate it or will it always be about what is next and about attempting to find happiness through something outside of yourself? Finding a way to appreciate where you are in this moment while also allowing yourself to create what you want in your life is a beautiful place to be.
I don’t know if you all have been feeling the energy lately but astrologically, things have been a bit shaken up. Depending on where you are in your process and what it is that you have been working through, the full moon eclipse and the gradual ending of eclipse season has seemed to bring with it, a bit of a hammer. It has had this way of shaking things loose and forcing us to look at exactly what it is we need to let go to step into our next phase.
When energies are unsettled, it can trigger all sorts of things that we need to either look at, sit with, work through, or release. Often times, especially lately, these triggers can have an anxious or fearful energy. The fearful or anxious energy can be the basis for many of the emotions, the reactions, the explosions that can happen when we are feeling unsettled and not grounded in our body.
What is fear? According to Google, it is “ an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat.”
Fear can be a good thing when it comes from a place of survival or instinct. If we are aware and pay attention it can be something that keeps us alive and allows us to react accordingly depending on the threat being presented to us. It is when we immerse ourselves in the fear and it becomes a part of our being, our mind, our reactions, our lives that it is incredibly detrimental .
There are many factors that can contribute to us living our lives in a fearful place. Obviously, we all have our story and our conditioning and many of us are carrying traumas from earlier years that trigger many unwanted emotions within us. It is almost like there needs to be a balance between sitting with and working through what it is that is coming up for us while also making sure it doesn’t take us over and consumer every aspect of our lives.
My teacher always taught me that fear is an illusion and that in order to grow and step into who I truly am, I need to get out of my head. She also stated, that if I could let go of all of my fear, I would be healed immediately. At the time, I thought I understood what she meant by this but the farther along I go on my path the more clearly I can see this illusion and how it can be completely debilitating.
In our society, fear sells. The media loves to inundate us with worse case scenarios, share only stories that focus on the dark side, that create the ideas, the thoughts, the beliefs that our world is nothing but negative, disastrous, and basically evil. And, if you’re not careful you too will experience any of the gazillion worse case scenarios that are shared.
Depending on who we surround ourselves with and what we expose ourselves to, this can be exacerbated. Are we constantly hearing about doomsday? Are we allowing ourselves to dive into the rabbit hole of darkness, death, and destruction?
I am pointing this out as when we focus on the negative and on the worst possible outcomes and allow our minds to marinate, spin out, and hone in on things from this perspective then we are allowing ourselves to live in fear. We are allowing ourselves to exist in the illusion. We are allowing ourselves to have this energy attach to us and not only become part of us but to contribute to the doomsday collective.
What is magic? It is the manipulation of energy. What are our thoughts and our intentions? They are energy. What happens when we constantly focus on the worst possible outcome? The energy of lack? The energy of the negative? We are creating fear. We are allowing negative thoughts to rule who we are and how we respond to our daily lives thus limiting ourselves from creating what we want to create.
When we live in this fear, we inhibit ourselves from doing things that may actually benefit us. We convince ourselves that we can’t do certain things, be a certain way, change our lives, make ourselves happy, be who we really are because if we do any of these things, something bad will happen.
When we live in this mindset, we are living in a frequency that can cause lack, unhappiness, anger, anxiety, depression, and complete stagnancy. It contributes to a state of chaos, a state of fight or flight, it can cause our systems to be in stress mode and can eventually lead to all types of dis-ease that can manifest in any and all levels of our being.
Take me for example. I have done a lot of work around this, a lot. I am aware when fear, when ego, when the monkey mind and that chaotic energy is creeping in. And still, there are times when I am on this journey and I feel overwhelmed.
As with many of you, I am an empath, a sensitive, and I can feel the energy of the collective. I can feel those around me, especially the ones I am close to and if I am not careful, I can take on their energy.
A news headline may pop up on my phone and I allow myself to read and engage in what the media is sharing, and then maybe I read a little more and a little more and a little more. Maybe I think about certain aspects of my life where things could get really bad; Then I listen to some friends or some family members who have strong thoughts, strong opinions, about the way of the world; then I go into the grocery store or out to a public event and there is something energetically there that feeds this pattern, and before I know it; I take it on, it has stuck.
When this happens, I can literally feel things in my life start to shift. The shifts can be different depending on what the situation and energy is and it can manifest in many different ways…
My sleep can be affected. My self-care routine can change and all of a sudden, I am not doing everything I normally do to take care of myself. I can isolate. I am quicker to anger or lose my patience. My creativity diminishes, and the lack mentality can come in. The worst piece can be when all the possible negative outcomes (which do not exist) enter.
Take it a step further, as again, our thoughts and our frequency are energy; my business can slow. I feel stressed. My relationships can be affected. My immune system gets compromised. I feel stagnant or stuck. My mood and energy is lackluster.
When I recognize that this is happening, it is time to take a deep breath and get back into my body. It is time to take a deep breath and calm my mind. It is time to take a deep breath and connect.
For me personally, getting out into nature is an extremely powerful way to not only clear the chaos but feel the connection which allows the fearfulness to slow. Breathing in the Qi, feeling my feet on the earth, listening to the sounds, being in the full immersion brings clarity. Journaling and allowing the thoughts to release as I put them on paper helps to bring a sense of calm. Seeking out energy healing or body work gets things to shift, to move and to clear. Becoming more intentional and mindful of my thoughts and what I am putting out into the world changes the direction of the energy. Diving into my meditation practice and visualizing and focusing on what I want to create rather than what I don’t is literally magic. Performing ceremony around releasing what it is I need to release and again, creating what it is I want to create takes the frequency to an entire new level. Recognizing what is mine and what is not and releasing anything that I have taken on brings my power back. Avoiding the news, social media as well as others whose energy I do not want in my field is protection.
I step back into myself and allow myself to breathe.
Ultimately, I focus on trusting and completely surrendering to the flow of the universe.
The only thing we can control is ourselves. Why waste our time, our energy on perpetuating things that are out of our control? Why create an illusion of something that does not exist? When we surrender to the natural flow and are present with what is, often times things have a way of just working themselves out. The energy shifts from a place of chaos to a place of peace, of calm, of surrender, of love, of flow. I don’t know about you but that is the place I would much rather be. Let’s release the fear.
Sending love and light to each and every one of you and as always, I am here.
